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Land has many uses. It provides water, food and energy. It is used to create wealth and employment and grow economies. And it provides other, often less obvious and tangible, services such as conserving biodiversity, storing carbon, purifying and storing water. It even regulates the Earth’s climate, for instance, by absorbing the heat from the sun. All of its uses are undermined and destroyed…

Yet nearly 1 billion people do not have enough food to eat. And more than 1 billion lack access to enough safe water. Most of the world’s billion poor people are living directly off degrading land. How can we eliminate poverty without addressing the source of people’s low income; land and its declining productivity? Our food, water, homes and incomes are built on the land. The food, water and…

Land degradation refers to any reduction or loss in the biological or economic productive capacity of the land resource base. It is generally caused by human activities, exacerbated by natural processes, and often magnified by and closely intertwined with climate change and biodiversity loss. SLM practices include the integrated management of crops (trees), livestock, soil, water, nutrients,…

Numbers can tell a compelling story. In this brochure, the numbers highlight how much we rely on productive land. Amongst other valuable services, land feeds our families, provides fresh water and powers our future ambitions. Much of the data collected here, however, demonstrate how close we are to pushing our relationship with the land to breaking point. The magnitude of the challenges and…

Land has a value for each and every one of us. Fertile soil provides us with plant life, vegetables, grains, and fibres. Forests supply us with timber and firewood. We benefit from fresh water, food, and many other ecosystem services that land provides us with. Land is also emotionally valuable to people as well, perhaps through associating treasured memories such as playing on it as a child. In…

This brochure has been jointly written and produced by some 40 United Nations (UN) specialized agencies, funds, programmes and other bodies that coordinate their respective activities on climate change. The brochure has one simple purpose: to show Governments and the public how the diverse entities of the UN system work together to support ambitious international action on climate change. It…